Learning to Live
by Remus-is-a-chocoholic
Summary: Peter is found when Harry is eight years old and Sirius is released. The heir to the most noble and ancient house of black is given custody of his godson, but Harry is in bad shape when the wizards find him. Harry and Sirius must now once again learn to live. Sirius-raises-Harry fic. no slash and i don't own anything.
1. Chapter 1

Learning to Live

Disclaimer: I do not own anything, everything belongs to JK Rowling, all credit goes to JK Rowling. This is a fan fiction written for fun and I don't make any profit.

**Chapter 1- The Rat**

Remus Lupin was in a bad mood, he had opened his cupboard door to fetch himself a nice bar of chocolate, only to find that his whole stash had been gnawed at by some form of small rodent. Now Remus was on a mission, he had been to all of the local stores and had returned with over twenty mousetraps, he set them out in the kitchen, turned out the light and waited in the dark doorway for the evil little creature to be caught. It was safe to say that Remus cared a lot about his chocolate. He could hear scurrying and an evil grin broke out on his face, there was a loud snapping noise and he jumped into the air triumphantly. He turned on the light and made his way into the room, cursing loudly when he stepped on a mousetrap. He made his way over to the source of the squeaking and stared down at the fat little rodent that had its tail caught in the trap. "you really didn't need that chocolate" Remus said as he stared at the rats large belly. He bent down and removed the rat from the trap, it was a very strange looking rat, with grey fur and a large black stripe going down its spine, it had watery blue eyes and…wait! Watery blue eyes? He checked its foot and surely enough it was missing a toe. The cogs in Remus' brain began to turn as he stared down at the obese and balding rat. "it cant be" he muttered to himself "Peter?" the rat began to struggle in his hand, he took out his wand and muttered the words "perificus totalis" the rat fell still, but its eyes still glanced around franticly. Remus placed the rat in a shoe box and weighed it down with a paperweight, after poking a few holes in it first of coarse. The werewolf made his way over to the fireplace and called for headmaster Dumbledore. The old headmaster arrived moments later, wearing a pair of blue silk pyjamas and a matching night cap.

"Remus" he said urgently "what's the emergency" Remus said nothing, he led the headmaster into the sitting room and they both sat on opposite armchairs, Remus pulled the shoe box onto his lap and pulled out the rat.

"look" he said, holding the rat out towards the headmaster "I found this rat eating my chocolate, I trapped it, its missing a toe" Dumbledore gave him a confused look

"beg your pardon Remus?" the werewolf sighed in exasperation.

"it's missing a toe headmaster, don't you see? The rat is peter" Dumbledore dropped his head into his hands and groaned, he rubbed his temples.

"Remus. Peter is dead, Sirius killed him seven years ago" Remus shook his head, managing to look much alike a young child.

"nope" he said popping the 'p' "he _obviously_ didn't, because this is Peter" he again shoved the rat in the headmasters face and Dumbledore rose from his seat.

"Remus, wait here. I'm going to get Madam Pomfrey, I think a night in the infirmary could do you some good." Remus stood quickly and rushed for the doorway.

"no" he shrieked, his eyes going wide "you can't leave" he then threw the rat on the floor, said the animagus revealing spell and watched in delight as the fat rat changed back into Peter Pettigrew. Dumbledore gasped and looked up at Remus, the man looked like a child in a sweet store, it was almost as if a few screws had come loose. "see" Remus pointed at Peter with a pout "and you didn't believe me" Dumbledore swallowed dryly.

"yes Remus and I am very sorry, now come along, we'd better take Mr Pettigrew here to Hogwarts" Remus nodded solemnly and allowed Dumbledore to escort him back to the castle, Peter was levitated behind them.

Dumbledore flooed them straight to the hospital wing "Poppy!" he called, there came no answer, he began to walk through the infirmary, Remus still at his side and Peter still levitating behind them. He found the nurse treating a patient at the end of the wing, the patient was none other than Severus Snape. Poppy was healing the burns on his face and arms and Dumbledore had to suppress a laugh, the potions master did look very amusing without any eyebrows.

"something funny Albus?" Snape drawled "because I can assure you that I don't find it quite as amusing." the headmaster didn't get time to answer, Remus did it for him.

"hey snivellous" the werewolf greeted "what happened to your face" the potions waster went to jump from the bed but was restrained by both Poppy and Albus.

"something big happened tonight Severus, it would appear that Mr Lupin has suffered from some sort of breakdown, I wouldn't hold him accountable for anything he says" Severus nodded, he wasn't in the mood to fight anyway.

"what has happened that was so monumental?" the potions master asked tiredly.

"Peter Pettigrew was found" this time no one stopped Severus as he shot up, Poppy whipped her head around and Remus cackled like a maniac.

"yep" he popped the 'p' once again "he ate my chocolate" the werewolf then proceeded to laugh. Severus raised what would have been an eyebrow if it hadn't been singed off in what the headmaster assumed to be a potions accident. Dumbledore just shrugged and Poppy escorted Remus to a bed where she fed him a sleeping draught. Only then did the others notice Peter levitating behind the headmaster, Dumbledore followed their eyes

"ah yes" he said as he dropped the obese, balding man onto the floor in rather a forceful way. Severus snarled as he approached the traitor "please call the ministry Poppy, there are some things that need to be discussed." the headmaster said, the nurse nodded and went on her way. Severus stood with his wand pointing at Peter, he knew what this meant, if Black didn't kill Peter then who else didn't he kill?

Cornelius Fudge arrived at Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry with a group of aurors at his side, he wobbled his way into the infirmary and stopped dead when he saw the fat form of Peter Pettigrew laying still on the bed. Severus Snape approached the ratty man and released him from the body bind, Peter was shaking as Severus lazily tied him up with a flick of his wand and forced the veritiserum down his throat. They didn't waste any time, they all gathered round the bed and the questioning began.

"who are you?" Cornelius asked.

"Peter Pettigrew" the man answered in a monotone voice.

"are you an illegal animagus?"

"yes I am" came the monotone response

"did Sirius Black blow up the street and kill thirteen muggles?" Cornelius asked the question whilst the others waited with baited breath.

"no" came the response "I did it, to frame Sirius" there was a collective gasp.

"did Sirius betray the whereabouts of Lily and James Potter to the dark lord?" again the room waited in anxiousness whilst Remus snored loudly from the bed across the room.

"No" came Peters answer "I was the secret keeper, I betray them" another collective gasp, Severus had to be restrained by three aurors so that he didn't attack the newly-found traitor who was responsible for the death of the one woman who he had loved.

Peter Pettigrew was escorted from the school, he had confessed, he had been found guilty, there would be no trial. Poppy Pomfrey was busy casting diagnostic spells on a sleeping Remus Lupin, she sighed and Dumbledore approached her side "what's wrong with him Poppy?" he asked gently .

Poppy sighed "where to begin? He's half drunk, exhausted, malnourished and on a slight sugar high, I'd say its not such a bad thing that Mr Pettigrew ate the majority of Mr Lupin's chocolate stash" Dumbledore chuckled.

"will he be okay after some rest?" the headmaster asked and Poppy nodded.

"oh yes, he will be fine in the morning, have Severus make him a hangover potion will you?" Dumbledore nodded, smiled at the nurse and left the infirmary to go to the dungeons.

Albus opened the portrait to Severus' quarters and sighed when he saw the potions master perched in an armchair with a bottle of firewhisky in his hand. "well Severus, Poppy sent me to ask you to make Mr Lupin a hangover potion. However, I will now ask you to make two" the potions master nodded and Dumbledore shook his head and laughed a little before striding from the room.

-XXX-

Sirius black awoke to the sound of his cousin's loud cackling screeches, he groaned and rolled onto his side. A dementor floated over his cell and he winced as the most horrible memories of his life played through his brain. He dragged himself over to the mattress that served as his bed and hauled himself onto it, his food tray sat full in the corner, it contained a couple of slices of bread and cheese, he hadn't touched it, the only thing he had consumed was the glass of water, he had long ago lost the will to eat. Footsteps approached his cell and he wondered what kind of ridicule he would be in for this morning. Kingsly Shacklebolt stopped in front of his cell and Sirius sighed at the sight of the man who had once been his friend. However, Kingsly wasn't snarling this morning, instead he was…smiling? "Sirius" the auror called and Sirius' eyebrows disappeared into his hairline, no one referred to him by his first name anymore "I think you should read the paper this morning" Sirius stared at the auror in confusion as he threw him a copy of the daily prophet. He took the newspaper and wasn't confused anymore, the title of the first page read: "**Peter Pettigrew found alive and guilty, Sirius Black found innocent**" Sirius stared at the newspaper in shock before a grin spread over his face. He looked back up at Kingsly who grinned back. "come on Sirius" he said happily "lets get you out of here" the Black heir let out a little laugh as he was released from his cell. Kingsly led him toward an interrogation room "there's someone here to see you" he said happily before opening the door for Sirius to enter. The dog animagus felt his eyes widen in shock at the sight of Remus Lupin sitting in the interrogation room.

The werewolf stood shakily "Sirius" he began "I'm so sorry that I didn't…..is should have….I mean I'm" Sirius laughed.

"moony" he said with a chuckle "don't apologise, your forgetting that I thought it was you for a while back" Remus looked up at his old friend and smiled.

"so how does it feel to be free?" he asked

Sirius grinned "I wont know 'till I'm out of here now will I?" he replied and Remus grinned. Together the duo made their way out of the prison and onto the boat, Sirius clutched his wand to his chest as if afraid that it would be taken from him again.

"so how are you moony?" Sirius asked once they had reached the other side of the lake.

Remus groaned "you'll never guess what the bastard did Padfoot. He ate my chocolate, every last scrap of it" Sirius laughed at Remus' genuinely upset tone, the man was too much of a chocoholic for his own good.

Remus took Sirius back to his parents' cottage in Scotland and the animagus immediately rushed for a shower. He dressed in Remus' clothes and groaned when he saw himself in the mirror, it was not sexy in any way shape or form. "so" Sirius said as he entered the living room "where's Harry?" Remus was taken aback by the question.

"what do you mean?" he asked and Sirius frowned.

"you didn't get custody of Harry?" he asked incredulously.

"Sirius, the ministry would never give custody of Harry to a werewolf. No, Dumbledore knows where he is, why don't we ask him? Sirius nodded and they flooed the headmaster.

Dumbledore stepped out of the fireplace with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. "Sirius, how lovely it is to see you" the ex convict nodded and they decided to get straight to business.

"Albus" Sirius began, feeling strange at calling his headmaster by his first name "we were wondering where Harry was?" Dumbledore smiled at the man.

"of coarse Sirius, he is currently with Petunia and Vernon Dursley, am I correct In thinking that you would like custody?" neither man answered, they just stared at the headmaster with shock on their faces.

"Petunia?" Sirius asked "you left my godson with Lily's jealous, stuck up, horrible hag of a sister? Damn right I want custody" Dumbledore was taken back by the words but he remained calm nonetheless.

"of coarse Sirius, you are in the will as legal godfather so custody will be easy for you to gain. However, Harry has been with the Dursley's for seven years now and we have not been informed of any problems" Sirius dragged in a breath as did Remus from beside him. "I'll tell you what" Dumbledore began "how about we rest today, create wards tomorrow morning and then collect Harry tomorrow afternoon?" Sirius and Remus exchanged a glance before nodding at the headmaster.

"that sounds reasonable" Sirius agreed and Remus nodded. Dumbledore left shortly after and the two men went to bed, eager for the next day to arrive.


	2. Chapter 2

Learning to Live

Disclaimer: I do not own anything, everything belongs to JK Rowling, all credit goes to JK Rowling. This is a fan fiction written for fun and I don't make any profit.

*warning for child abuse*

**Chapter 2- The boy from the cupboard**

Harry Potter was hurriedly cleaning the dishes in the kitchen of his aunts house in Surrey. His whale of a cousin, Dudley, wobbled into the kitchen and made his way over to the young, underweight Potter. "hi freak" the round boy said in a cheery tone "having fun washing the dishes?" Harry ignored him, it had always been the best way to avoid trouble. "daddy says that you're a freak and that you do freakish things" Dudley announced and Harry kept ignoring him, he didn't want to get into trouble. "no wonder you don't have any friends, its because you're a freak" Harry was struggling to ignore the boy but he managed because he didn't want to be in trouble. Dudley got an idea and an evil grin overtook his chubby face, making his many chins wobble "you're a freak just like your mummy and daddy, that's why they didn't want you" Harry snapped, Dudley couldn't insult his mummy and daddy, Harry didn't know them but he knew that they must have been nice.

"my mummy and daddy weren't a freak, you're the freak" Harry snapped and instantly regretted it.

"daddy!" Dudley bellowed "Harry called me a freak!" the floor creaked in protest as Vernon Dursley wobbled into the room.

"boy!" he bellowed "here! Now!" Harry shuffled forward slowly keeping his eyes on the floor, he squealed in fright when his uncle snatched him from the floor and pinned him against the wall. "now listen here you little freak!" Vernon spat "we give you food and clothes and a warm house and you will not treat us like this! Do you understand me?!" Harry was quaking with fright but he didn't cry because freaks weren't aloud to cry.

"yes Uncle Vernon" he whimpered and his uncle threw him roughly to the floor.

"get on with your chores boy!" he barked before wobbling from the room. Harry stood up and desperately fought against the stinging in his eyes, he wouldn't cry, freaks weren't aloud to cry. The dishes were all done s he decided to move onto the next job, de-weeding the garden. He wandered out into the back lawn and sighed, there were weeds everywhere.

The eight year old boy dropped to his knees and began to pull on the prickly weeds with his bare hands, the thorns pierced his skin and the blood trickled down his arms. Harry was halfway done with the garden when he started to feel sick, he lifted his hand to his forehead and found that he had a temperature. He rubbed his bleeding hand across his aching tummy and suddenly felt very dizzy. Harry decided to go inside for some water and then he would return to his jobs. He went back into the kitchen and poured himself a glass from the tap, he settled at the table and began to sip his water quietly. Petunia Dursley wondered into the room and froze when she saw Harry, here eyes narrowed into slits. "what do you think you are doing?" she snapped, Harry almost screamed In fright.

"s-sorry Aunt Petunia, I wa-wasn't felling too well" she stormed over and snatched the water away from the table, pouring it down the sink. She grabbed his arm and hauled him off of the seat before pushing him in the direction of the door. Harry was so shocked that in a burst of accidental magic the light bulb blew loudly. Petunia screamed and Harry quaked with fear, oh no, he had done it now.

"Vernon!" the horse-like woman called "Vernon come quick!" the whale of a man ran into the room and snarled at Harry.

"what did I tell you about using your freakishness boy?!" he snapped, Harry couldn't speak he was so scared, Vernon grabbed Harry's arm and dragged him into the hallway "I'll beat the freakishness out of you boy!" he roared as he threw the young boy to the ground. A large foot connected with Harry's ribs and the young boy cried out in pain, but he didn't cry, freaks weren't aloud to cry. The boot-clad foot connected with his legs, his arms, his back and his head but Harry didn't cry, because freaks aren't aloud to cry. Eventually Vernon hauled Harry up onto his feet and threw him roughly into the cupboard under the stairs, he bolted the door and stormed away.

Harry dragged himself over to the old mattress that had come from a baby's crib, he was so malnourished that when he curled up, he fit onto the thin mattress. He had an old towel for a blanket and it barely covered his shivering body. Harry lifted up a hand to pull on the string that would turn on the light, but the light wouldn't switch on as the light bulb had blown. Harry curled up into a smaller ball and in the dark of his cupboard, with no one there to watch him, Harry cried.

-XXX-

Vernon Dursley was just about to head up to bed when there was a loud knock at the door. He grumbled to himself as he stormed downstairs and threw the door open. The mans beady eyes grew wide when he took in the sight of the three figures on the other side. There were three men, one was slightly scarred with caramel coloured hair, the one in the middle was dressed in purple robes and had a long white beard. The last one was tall and tanned, he had shoulder length, ebony black hair and slate grey eyes. "hello Mr Dursley" Dumbledore announced politely "may we come in?" Vernon frowned, his face turned red and his moustache twitched.

"no you may not" he snapped, his voice was loud enough to wake Petunia and Dudley, who rushed down the stairs.

"pity" said Dumbledore sadly "because we are coming in anyway" the three wizards then pushed their way into the house.

"where's Harry?" Sirius demanded and Vernon turned red.

"there is no one in this house by that name" Sirius whipped out his wand and the whale-like man quickly changed his mind, he pointed to the stairs and Sirius and Remus rushed up them, leaving Albus with the muggles.

Sirius and Remus searched every room on the top floor and found no evidence that another child even lived there. They made there way back downstairs and Vernon looked smug "see" he said "there is no Harry here, now if you would be so kind as to lea-" he was cut off by Remus' gasp.

"surely not" the werewolf muttered to himself, Sirius followed his friends gaze and his eyes went wide. There was a small cupboard under the stairs and the cupboard was locked by many deadbolts. Sirius sent them a look that, if looks could kill, would put them six feet under. He strode forwards and slowly slid open each deadbolt, he opened the door and cast lumos with his wand. The cupboard was flooded with light and Sirius felt sickened by what he saw. A small boy, that looked no older than about five, was huddled in the cupboard on a tiny mattress with only a towel to cover his shivering form. The small boy had messy black hair and glasses sitting crookedly on his face. His eyes were screwed shut and he was rocking back and forth as tears ran down his cheeks. The little boy was clearly terrified and kept muttering "I'm sorry uncle Vernon, it wont happen again uncle Vernon, please don't hurt me uncle Vernon" Sirius was astounded by how much Harry looked like James, there was no mistaking it, this boy was his godson. Sirius outstretched a hand and stroked the boys hair gently, Harry screamed and Sirius recoiled as if he had been burnt. Remus as watching in horror over his friends shoulder and Albus had resorted to shouting at the Dursley's.

"Harry" Sirius said gently "Harry, it's ok, I wont hurt you" emerald eyes snapped open and took in the sight of Sirius' thin but kind face.

"wh-who are you?" Harry asked and then mentally slapped himself for asking a question, freaks don't ask questions. However, the man didn't hit him, instead he smiled softly "I'm Sirius" he whispered gently "I was friends with your mummy and daddy, they made me your godfather, do you know what that means?" Harry shook his head and Sirius smiled "that means that you get to come and live with me" Harry's eyes went wide "would you like that Harry?" the boy nodded and then blushed and looked down.

"y-yes ple-please sir" he stuttered and Sirius frowned, but not was not the time. He reached into the cupboard but Harry screamed and wriggled away.

"hey, hey Harry" Sirius spoke soothingly "I'm just going to pick you up ok?" Harry thought about it for a moment and then nodded, Sirius smiled and scooped the little boy into his arms, he was deeply distressed with how stiff Harry was, as if just being held made him so uncomfortable. Remus and Sirius shared a look before they dissaperated.

The trio arrived right outside of Hogwarts school and Sirius heard Harry wailing in his arms. Harry was sobbing loudly and struggling to get away from Sirius. The animagus held the young boy closer and rocked him back and forth until he was much calmer. "I'm sorry Harry" Sirius whispered "I didn't think pup, it's over now, we're here" Harry looked up at the huge castle and his eyes went wide. The men chuckled and carried him inside. They made their way towards the hospital wing where they were greeted by Poppy Pomfrey who took Harry from Sirius' arms and lay him on a bed. She began to perform diagnostic spells whilst Harry watched in fear and interest. The medi-witch frowned and turned to Sirius "he has two broken ribs, a broken leg, severe bruising and a high fever. Sirius felt enraged but he held it in and watched in silent anger as Poppy handed Harry various potions, the boy drank them without being told twice.

It took mere hours for Harry's bones to mend, she said that the fever was just a common bug and that he was to take pain medicine when he felt sick. Sirius thanked the healer and himself and Remus took Harry home, they travelled by floo this time and Harry didn't seem to mind that too much. They arrived at Remus' parents cottage and Sirius took Harry to the spare bedroom that they had converted into his new room. Harry was asleep when they got there so Sirius placed him on the bed and left the room leaving the door only slightly ajar so that if Harry needed them, he could find them.

Sirius and Remus sat silently in the sitting room of the cottage, neither knew what to say. "do you think he'll be ok?" Sirius asked and Remus offered him a small smile "yeah, I'm sure he'll be fine after a while" the werewolf answered. They hadn't been sat there for very long when they heard crying and coughing coming from Harry's room, Remus rushed to find the potion whilst Sirius rushed to his godson's side. Harry was sitting up in bed, the blankets were coated in sick and the little boy looked so frightened.

"I'm sorry" he wailed "I didn't mean to" Sirius rushed forward and pulled the boy into a hug.

"hey, Harry" he spoke softly "it's not your fault, I'm not cross, what's wrong pup?" Harry murmured something and Sirius cocked an eyebrow "what pup?" he asked again and Harry blushed a little.

"my tummy hurts" the little boy murmured louder and Sirius nodded.

"ok then, I'll get your potion, don't worry, it'll be ok" Harry nodded and Sirius took the potion from Remus who was standing in the doorway. He took the potion to Harry who drank it eagerly. The little boy was soon back asleep and Sirius gently lifted him from the bed. "he cant sleep here" he explained to the werewolf "he can have my bed tonight and I'll bunk on the sofa" the werewolf nodded and the men parted ways. Sirius set Harry in his own bed, before grabbing a spare blanket and making a bed on the sofa. They would worry about cleaning Harry's bed tomorrow, for now, they could all use a little rest.


	3. Chapter 3

Learning to Live

Disclaimer: I do not own anything, everything belongs to JK Rowling, all credit goes to JK Rowling. This is a fan fiction written for fun and I don't make any profit.

**Chapter 3- getting used to change**

Harry awoke in the morning with a little head and tummy ache but nothing serious, he looked at the clock beside the bed and saw that it was already six o'clock. He leapt out of bed in horror and raced for the kitchen to make breakfast. He turned on the hob and was just about to move the pan when his hand caught the flame and burnt. He switched of the gas and blinked back the tears in his eyes, last night was a one off, freaks were still not aloud to cry. He rushed to the sink and ran his hand under the cold tap, he still had his hand under the cold jet of water when Sirius stirred in the sitting room and entered the kitchen. He gave Harry a confused look and the little boy felt his whole world crumble around him, he hadn't made breakfast on time, he had cried last night and he had gotten sick on the blankets, oh he was in for a whole world of trouble. To the little boy's shock Sirius didn't shout, he simply walked forward and took hold of Harry's hand, his grey eyes went wide when he saw the large burn the covered half of the boys palm. "Harry" he gasped "what happened to your hand" Harry hung his head in shame.

"I burnt it" he murmured and Sirius frowned.

"on what?" the man asked and Harry gave him an incredulous look.

"on the stove" he said as if it were the most obvious thing ever.

Sirius frowned deeper "Harry, why were you touching the stove?" he asked and it was now Harry's turn to frown in confusion.

"I was making breakfast, I always make breakfast, its my job" Sirius' eyes widened in shock.

"Harry. That is not your job any more ok?" he said gently "I don't want you near the stove where you can burn yourself, you don't have nay jobs until your older ok?" Harry nodded, though he looked confused. "how are you feeling?" Sirius asked and Harry looked at his feet, Sirius turned off the tap and lifted Harry's chin.

"I feel fine" he lied but Sirius didn't buy It, he placed a palm to Harry's forehead.

"you feel warm" he told the boy, Harry blushed darker and Sirius opened the medicine cabinet, he took out a tub of burn salve and a pain potion from Madam Pomfrey. He gave Harry the potion and gently applied the salve to the boys burn. Harry stayed silent throughout it all.

"thank you" he muttered after Sirius had put the salve away.

Sirius smiled and went to pick Harry up but the boy flinched, Sirius sighed and tried again, he managed to lift Harry into his arms but the boy looked far from comfortable. He took Harry back to his room and laid him on the bed before tucking him in.

"you are very welcome pup" he said softly "but please don't lie to me, I only want to help" Harry nodded and Sirius smiled "you stay in bed for a while and feel better ok?" Harry nodded and Sirius smiled before leaving the room.

Remus met Sirius in the sitting room where the animagus proceeded to explain the mornings events, Remus listened quietly. "how is he feeling now?" Remus asked once Sirius had finished.

Sirius shrugged "ok I guess, he's sleeping so he should feel better when he's awake" Remus nodded and the two slipped into comfortable silence for a while before Remus slipped away to make breakfast.

-XXX-

Harry awoke to the delicious smell of sizzling bacon and frying eggs and he sighed, knowing that it wouldn't be for him. The little boy was very confused with the events of the past day, he had been sick everywhere, burnt himself, not made breakfast and cried like a baby, but the men hadn't punished him. The door creaked open and Harry looked up, his eyes wide in fright. Sirius stepped into the room and made his way over to Harry's bed. "hey pup" he greeted quietly and Harry's bottom lip began to wobble. However, he held the tears in.

"I-im sorry sir" he mumbled and Sirius looked confused.

"what are you sorry for Harry?" he asked gently, not wanting to frighten the child.

"for everything, for not cooking breakfast and for being sick and for crying and-" he was cut off as Sirius wrapped him in a hug. The animagus held the young boy whilst he fought and then sighed when Harry relaxed into his arms.

"listen Harry" Sirius whispered to the boy "you have nothing to be sorry for ok? The Dursley's were mean people and what they did to you was wrong, things will be different here Harry" the young boy nodded into his godfathers chest and decided that he would try and believe the man's words, they had taken him away from the Dursley's after all.

Remus looked up as Sirius and Harry entered the room, the werewolf smiled at the duo and gestured for them to take a seat. Harry blushed and obliged, but Sirius had other ideas. The animagus walked towards the highest cupboard in the corner of the kitchen and began to rummage through it. Finally, he stepped back and turned to face Remus with an eyebrow raised and six bars of Honeydukes finest chocolate in his hand. "really Moony?" the Sirius asked with a chuckle "you restocked yesterday? Is that why you took so long when you went to buy paint?" Remus had the good grace to look sheepish whilst Harry watched the interaction with interest.

"Sirius, just put it back in the cupboard and all will be ok" Remus told his friend, a hint of warning seeping into his voice.

"actually Moony" Sirius said with a chuckle "I don't think I will" that's when It happened, Remus launched himself at Sirius and the two men wrestled on the floor in laughter. Sirius looked up for a brief moment and froze, Harry was gone. "Remus, Remus get up, Harry's gone" the werewolf and the animagus rose to their feet and began to search the cottage, the boy wasn't anywhere to be seen. Sirius checked all of the bed rooms whilst Remus ran swiftly through the other rooms. The two men met once again in the kitchen, each with a look of fear on their faces.

"where could he have gone Sirius?" Remus asked in fright. The animagus shrugged simply but his grey eyes were wild with fear.

"we should check the garden" he told the werewolf solemnly and both men knew that they were thinking the same thing. At the back of the garden there was the entrance to a vast expanse of woodland, if Harry had wandered into there then their chances of finding the boy were very slim.

-XXX-

Andromeda Tonks stepped out of the fireplace and hoisted her daughter to her feet. "honestly Nymphadora" the woman sighed "your so clumsy" the young metamorphous' hair turned a deep red.

"don't call me Nymphadora" she snapped, much to the amusement of her father, who had just stepped out of the fire place and was watching the exchange. "why are we even here?" the girl asked and Andromeda sighed again.

"Dora, Sirius is my cousin, I need to speak to him" the girl nodded and glanced around the sitting room in a bored way.

"where do you think they are?" Ted Tonks asked his wife and she shrugged.

"I don't know dear" she turned to Dora "why don't you go and check the bedrooms sweetheart, they might still be asleep" the fourteen-year-old nodded and left the room.

Nymphadora made her way down the hallway and opened the first door that she saw, it revealed a child's bedroom. The walls were painted a sky blue colour and was charmed to have butterflies fly about on them. The bed was large with pale blue sheets and the carpet was a grass-green colour. There was a wardrobe and desk and a toy chest that looked as if it had never been opened. Dora stopped her pacing when she heard a small whimper, followed by the unmistakeable sound of sobbing. She frowned slightly and made her way over to the bed, she dropped onto her stomach and peered under the sheet, only to come face to face with the tiny, sobbing face of Harry Potter. "wotcher Harry" she said gently "what's wrong?" Harry looked up at the older girl with frightened eyes, he sniffled slightly.

"the men were fighting and its all my fault, I'm a freak and freaks make people angry" came the little boy's shaking response.

Dora frowned "that's not true Harry" she told him with a smile "my parents never argue and I'm not exactly normal" Harry gave her a questioning look and she contorted her face into that of a duck as an answer. Harry giggled, she turned her face back to normal and continued with what she had been saying "im sure that Sirius and Remus were just playing and I know that you didn't make them mad" he looked up at her with wide emerald eyes and wiped his nose on his sleeve. "feel like coming out now?" she asked and he nodded before shuffling his way out from under the bed. "I'm Nymphadora but don't ever call me that ok? You can call me Tonks or Dora" she smiled at him and Harry couldn't help but smile back. She held out her arms to pick him up and, for the first time since he had been there, Harry didn't flinch. "come on Harry, lets get you back to the others" Harry nodded and allowed her to pick him up.

"thanks Dora" he whispered with a smile and she chuckled.

"no problem kid"

-XXX-

Sirius and Remus searched franticly through the trees, Harry wasn't there, he wasn't anywhere. "we need to go back to the cottage and call for help" Sirius shouted and Remus nodded in agreement. Together the two men set off running for the house, they charged through the door and hunched over, trying to catch their breath. Andromeda ran for her cousin "Sirius?" she asked franticly "Sirius what's wrong?" Sirius looked up at her with pain filled eyes.

"its Harry, we cant find him, he's g-" the ebony-haired man stopped mid word as he saw Nymphadora enter the room, with Harry curled up in her arms.

"Wotcher uncle Sirius" she greeted warmly, then turned to Remus and blushed slightly "hello Remus" neither men responded, they were both too busy staring at the boy in her arms.

"Harry?" Sirius choked out, he rushed forward and pulled the boy into his arms "oh Harry we were so worried" he turned to Dora "where was he?" he asked the girl gently and she smirked.

"under his bed, he thought that he made you two fight with his freakishness" Sirius and Remus looked bewildered and Ted scoffed in the background.

"that's absurd, if that was true then Andy and I would never stop fighting" Dora sent her father a glare, to which he responded with a chuckle.

Sirius turned his attention back to his godson "Harry" he whispered quietly "listen to me. You are not a freak and Remus and I both care very much about you , we would never hurt you and you don't have to be scared" Harry nodded, but he didn't look like he believed the word so Sirius pulled him into a tight hug and whispered into his hair "we love you Harry, we always have and we always will" Harry felt tears building in his eyes, no one had ever loved him before. He didn't want to cry, but the man had said that he didn't have to be sorry so did that make crying ok? He didn't care, he let it out anyway and it felt good to cry.

"hey, hey Harry its alright" Remus cooed from his position next to Sirius.

The little boy sniffled and looked up at his guardians with watery green eyes "you mean it?" he asked quietly, his voice cracking with hope and both men nodded.

"yes Harry, of coarse we mean it." Harry smiled and buried his face in Sirius' robes as more tears came. It felt nice to be loved, to have people who cared about you and for once, Harry was hopeful that maybe things had changed after all.


	4. Chapter 4

Learning to Live

Disclaimer: I do not own anything, everything belongs to JK Rowling, all credit goes to JK Rowling. This is a fan fiction written for fun and I don't make any profit.

**Chapter 4- Harry's Date**

The small family of three were seated at the dinner table, Harry was happily eating and both Remus and Sirius were happy that he was finally starting to relax in their company. Sirius glanced over at his friend and Remus nodded in encouragement. "hey Harry?" Sirius called gently, the boy looked up and nodded for his godfather to continue as his mouth was to full to speak. Sirius chuckled but continued anyway "I was just wondering if…well….if you knew what happened to your parents?" Harry swallowed his food and stared down at the table, he nodded his head solemnly and willed the tears not to fall, it still felt unnatural to cry in front of adults. Sirius and Remus were in shock "you do?" asked Sirius, once again the boy nodded.

"Uncle Vernon and Auntie Petunia told me, they said that my mummy and daddy didn't want me because I was a freak, so they left me with the Dursley's when they went out to get drunk and that my daddy was drunk when he was driving so their was a car crash and that's how they died" he said the sentence in such a pitiful, hurt voice that both men felt instantly furious towards the Dursley's.

"Harry" Sirius cooed softly and he wrapped his arms around the boy, Harry didn't flinch like before, he simply melted into his godfathers arms. "Harry they lied to you" the young boy looked up into his godfathers eyes in a questioning way and Sirius nodded "Harry, you've seen us do magic haven't you?" Harry nodded and Sirius continued "that's because we are wizards Harry, just like your mummy and daddy and just like you" Harry looked confused but he didn't object, after all, some pretty strange stuff had happened to him lately. "Harry, your parents were killed by a horrible wizard names Voldemort, they loved you very much and they died to protect you" Harry gazed up at his godfather in wonder, everything he had ever been told about his parents was bad and now, Sirius was telling him that his parents had loved him, by the look on the man's face, Harry could tell that he wasn't lying.

"Sirius?" the boy asked, suddenly sheepish, Sirius nodded "could you show me a picture of my mummy and daddy? Please?" Sirius looked over at Remus and the two men smiled.

"of coarse Harry. Come on" he lifted the boy to his feet and they walked over to Remus' study.

Remus' study was a large, spacious room with a cream carpet and walls, every surface had been decorated with photos and Remus blushed slightly at the realisation that there was only the door that had been left photo-free and even then it was only because he was saving the space for pictures of Harry. Sirius smiled at his friend whilst Harry just sat there, eyes wide in awe. Sirius chuckled and led Harry over to a large picture that took up a lot of space on the wall. It was a photograph of Lily, James, Sirius and Remus on the day that Harry had been born. In the photo, Lily was sitting up in her hospital bed smiling and waving at the camera. James had his arm around his wife and was smiling as if he didn't have a care in the world. Sirius was holding baby Harry and looked as if he was scared that the child might break at any moment. Remus was perched beside Sirius, smiling at the baby. Harry felt tears spring to his eyes at the sight of his mum and dad looking do happy and it was In that moment that Harry realised that he was safe with Sirius and Remus, in the photo they were looking down at him with such love and admiration. It was the kind of look that Petunia would give to Dudley or that Dudley would give to a piece of cake. Sirius noticed his godsons tears and he didn't hesitate to scoop the child into his arms. Harry didn't resist the hug in any way, he melted into his godfathers arms and cried, he cried sad tears for the family that he would never have and he cried tears of joy for the new family that he had found.

"and then Lily threw a full glass of pumpkin juice over James' head and we all laughed at him" Sirius told Harry happily as the boy giggled in his arms. Remus laughed at the memories, they had spent the whole morning telling Harry stories about his parents and Hogwarts, at first Harry had been quite confused about magic but he had now come to accept it. Suddenly the floo roared to life and all three heads turned, a girl with bubblegum pink hair came flying through the fireplace and landed on the floor with a thud. "graceful as always I see, huh Dora?" Sirius mocked whilst Remus helped the girl up, she blushed a deep shade of red when Remus smiled kindly at her. Andromeda stepped out shortly after and the fourteen-year-old scowled as soon as her mother appeared.

"you can stop glaring at me Nymphadora" Andromeda snapped "you brought this upon yourself" Dora huffed and flopped down, ungracefully, onto the sofa. Sirius and Remus sent Andromeda a questioning look and she smiled apologetically. "my lovely darling daughter here" she gestured to Dora "went out last night with a 'friend' and didn't return until two hours past her curfew" all eyes turned on Dora and she blushed. "it would seem that young Dora over here had a date with a young boy that we have never met that she pointedly lied to us about" Dora flushed a brighter red and wished that the earth would swallow her whole and save her from the narrowing eyes of her uncle Sirius and the amused eyes of Remus. In the end, it was Harry who came to her rescue.

"Dora?" he asked shyly, she turned to him and grinned "do you want to come and see the drawing I did for you?" the teenager looked shocked but her grin grew and she nodded her head vigorously. Harry and Dora stood and left the room together, as they were leaving, Dora turned her head and shouted "see! At least Harry understands me!" and then she was gone.

Andromeda sighed and flopped down onto the sofa "I hate teenagers" she mumbled and the two men chuckled, she looked up and shot them a glare. "oh yeah, its funny now, but you just wait until Harry turns thirteen. He will no longer be Harry, the sweet adorable little boy. No, he'll be Harry, a hormonal beast that snaps at anything and bites your takes offence if you so much as breathe funny" Sirius and Remus exchanged a wide-eyes glance before sighing.

"he cant be that bad, can he?" Remus asked cautiously and Sirius gave him a look as if to say 'are you mental'.

"Rem, he's part James and part Lily, he'll be a prankster with a fiery temper, who chases girls and makes friends with slytherins" at Andromeda's glare he hastily added "evil, bad Slytherins, not the good ones" Andromeda nodded in approval and Remus held in a laugh, he knew how much it had pained Sirius to admit that there were such things as good Slytherins. However, the werewolf couldn't help but shudder at Sirius' description of a teenage Harry, it was mortifying. Andromeda grinned and evil, very Slytherin grin.

"see? They're beasts I tell you" both men swallowed dryly and the subject was dropped in favour of a thoughtful silence.

Harry picked up his drawing and handed it to the teenager who was sat on his bed, she smiled at the adorable drawing. It featured a stick person with rainbow hair and a pig's nose. "it's beautiful Harry" she told him with a smile and the boy grinned. She scooped the little boy up and sat him on her knee.

"Dora?" she nodded "what's a date?" Dora's eyes widened for a minute before she smiled down at the innocent little eight-year-old.

"Harry, a date is when two people, who think each other are pretty and want to kiss each other go out for the day" she smirked at herself, happy with the way she had handles the question.

Harry smiled and hugged Dora but his next question caught the teenager off guard "Dora, will you go on a date with me?" the girls eyes went wide and her mouth opened and closed like a goldfish, but Harry was looking at her with the puppy dog eyes and she didn't have the heart to tell him no.

"of course I'll go on a date with you Harry" she told him quietly, the last thing she needed was for the three adults in the sitting room hear her say that sentence. Little did she know that one particular werewolf happened to be standing on the other side of the bedroom door with wide eyes.

Remus ran back into the sitting room just as Sirius and Andromeda were pouring tea. "put the tea down, there is no time" he stated urgently and the others stared at him questioningly "come on" he hissed "you have **got **to hear this" the duo shrugged and followed Remus to where he now stood, just outside of Harry's bedroom door. The werewolf pushed the door open ever-so-slightly and three pairs of eyes peered into the room. Music was playing from a music box that had belonged to Lily when she had been Harry's age. The pink-haired girl was dancing happily around the room with Harry, who was smiling like a maniac.

"this was a very fun date Harry" Dora anounced when the little song had finished and Remus had to clamp his hand's over Andromeda and Sirius' mouths so that their laughing didn't give them away. Harry was smiling up at Tonks and she leant down and kissed him on the cheek, Harry smiled and blushed ever-so-slightly whilst Dora just grinned, happy with herself for making the little boy smile. That was until she heard the click of the camera. Slowly, the metamorphous turned around and faced the three laughing adults with a mortified expression on her face. "what are you doing?" she demanded, hands on her hips as she tried to fight the blush that was creeping onto her cheeks.

Andromeda smirked "don't worry dear, we're just snapping pictures of Harry's first date" the poor girl looked like he would faint from embarrassment and Sirius was grinning widely.

"I'm so proud prongs let" he told the boy "you're a pretty good dancer" Harry smiled up at his godfather and Dora scowled.

"come on Harry" she said to the boy "let's move this date elsewhere" Harry nodded and took her outstretched hand. The duo moved into the kitchen for crisps and pumpkin juice, leaving the three adults to laugh alone.

Harry had been pretty tired after the Tonks' had left, so he had been carried straight up to bed by Sirius. Now, both Black and Lupin were sitting on opposite sofa's, each with a thoughtful look on their face. "you kept the photos right?" Remus asked after a while and Sirius nodded.

"oh yeah. I love Dora far too much to let Andy do that to her" Remus nodded but managed to look confused.

"but what about Harry? Wont you be doing the same thing to him?" he asked with a frown and Sirius sighed.

"yes" he replied "but if everything that Andy tells us is true then we are going to need all the ammunition we can get to raise a teenage prongslet." Remus chuckled at the mischievous glint in Sirius' eyes, it reminded him of a time when they were younger and James was still around. He sighed internally, it was a happy sigh, things wouldn't be the same and they were by no means perfect, but they were happy, they had Harry and they were safe and that was all that mattered to either men in that time and place, it was all that would ever truly matter.


	5. Chapter 5

Learning to Live

Disclaimer: I do not own anything, everything belongs to JK Rowling, all credit goes to JK Rowling. This is a fan fiction written for fun and I don't make any profit.

**Chapter 5- Finding houses**

The photos had been tucked away and Remus had wandered up to bed, but Sirius couldn't find it in himself to sleep. He stared around the small sitting room and sighed. The animagus knew what he wanted but he didn't know how to get it without hurting the people he loved. He wanted his own house, a house that he could call his own, his own and Harry's. however, there was the small issue of Remus, Sirius knew that the werewolf enjoyed having himself and Harry around, but the tiny cottage was getting cramped and Sirius had no idea what to say to make the situation ok. He sighed lazily and reached out for a newspaper that was sitting on the coffee table, he flicked towards the housing adds in the back of the newspaper and began to search. He had subconsciously made up his mind, they would move.

_Harry was huddled in his cupboard, there was blood on the floor and he could hear shouting from beyond the door. The young boy shook with fright as he heard his uncle's heavy footsteps approaching the door. Light flooded the room and stung Harry's eyes. Small tears rolled down the wizards face as a large, meaty hand wrapped around his throat and yanked him roughly from the cupboard. The first blow came, heavy and painful against his ribs. Then another and another. The blows began to mingle together and Harry was sobbing uncontrollably. Just as Vernon raised his fist to deliver a final blow to the head, Harry awoke. _

Harry Potter's eyes snapped open, he had sweat coating his body and tears were stinging his eyes. He let out a loud wail as his body shook and then keeled over the side of the bed to be vigorously sick. Harry's bedroom door burst open and Sirius hurried in with Remus hot on his heel. "Harry?" Sirius asked franticly as he rubbed the boy's back "Harry what's wrong?" the young boy finished vomiting but his whole body was frigid and trembling in fear.

"I'm s-sorry" he mumbled pitifully "I d-dint mean to wake you, p-please don't send me back" Sirius' eyes went wide in shock but internally he groaned, they were just starting to get somewhere.

"Harry, pup, it's ok. What's wrong? What happened? I'm not mad pup" Harry looked up at his godfather with wide, questioning eyes and Sirius smiled comfortingly.

"I-I had a n-nightmare" Harry whispered softly, afraid of how Sirius would react.

"oh pup" Sirius sighed and pulled the child into his chest "it's ok, I wont let anything hurt you, your safe, I promise" Harry nodded and Sirius was overjoyed to feel the boy relax in his arms. Remus smiled softly to himself from the doorway, he turned around and went back to bed, it was a moment for godfather and godson, nothing that he wanted to intrude on.

Once Harry had calmed down, Sirius took him downstairs for an early breakfast that Remus had prepared. Harry smiled as he happily munched on his toast but Remus noticed that there was something wrong with his friend. "what is it Padfoot?" the werewolf asked when his friend refused to eat.

Sirius sighed and placed down his knife and fork ""actually, there's something that I want to talk to you and Harry about" the duo looked up at Sirius with curiosity and he took a deep breath "I love living here with you Remus, but I want Harry to have a house that is his, a house that is his home and it's getting slightly stuffy here, so, well-" Remus cut him off.

"you're moving" it wasn't a question, it was a statement. Sirius nodded miserably and Remus smiled "Sirius, I understand, you're Harry's godfather, not me, I didn't expect you to stay here forever and I'll still visit" Sirius looked up at his friend in shock, whilst Harry watched the exchange with interest.

"really?" the animagus asked hopefully and Remus nodded with a chuckle.

"yes Sirius, really" he then turned to Harry "what do you think Harry, would you like to move to a house with Sirius?" Harry looked nervous for a moment, as if he was worried about answering. However, a quick look at Sirius and Remus' encouraging faces and he relaxed.

"our own house?" he asked hesitantly and the smiles on the men's faces grew as they nodded their heads "if its ok with Remus, then I think it would be great" Harry told them with a little smile and Sirius pulled him into a hug.

"I'm going to look at one today and if I like it then I will buy it" Harry nodded excitedly and Remus smiled. The werewolf would be sad to see his best friend and 'nephew' leave, but if it would make them happy then it would be worth it.

Sirius went to see the house and immediately fell in love, it had four spacious bedrooms and a beautiful sitting room. The kitchen was elegant, there was a library and study with three sophisticated bathrooms. The man sighed contently as he handed over a cheque for the house, he could see himself and Harry living there quite happily and it was close enough for Remus to visit easily. The man couldn't help but smile, things in his life were finally starting to look up.

*A/N: I know that this chapter was short but I didn't want to rush it all ahead too much. Some people said that they wanted it to be Sirius who raises Harry alone so that's why they're moving out.*


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